October 19th:
Strong winds picked up yesterday (19th) morning and blew throughout the day and into the night. BIrdwise it brought migration to a halt. Countrywise it opened up great possibility, sweeping the spectre of fascism out the door. I want to hear what our scientists have to say – from their own mouths and research, not filtered through a political juggernaut that will only let you hear what they want you to hear and what fits their environmentally unfriendly political agenda. I’m looking forward to a new Canadian Future. [OK, that’s my rant for that day. I don’t usually give forth about politics but my happiness just couldn’t be contained.]


And….speaking of birds….the Blue Jays won! [I was speaking last night to a engaging group of people at the South Peel Nature Club and a young lady would provide ongoing updates that brightened up my presentation.]

Karen Shearer got back to me regarding the junco eye parasite:
Hi Rick,
From CCWHC [Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre]:
“This most likely is a filarioid nematode. These form an extremely
confusing (to me) group of nematodes that are found in a wide variety of
locations in their vertebrate hosts – e.g. skin, body cavities,
subcutaneous tissue, connective tissue, etc. – from where they shed
microfilaria, either into circulation or into subcutaneous tissue from
which locations they will be picked up by blood-feeding arthropods, who
act as both intermediate host and vector. They are mostly non-pathogenic.

Cheryl Bartlett, who was on faculty at the University of Cape Breton
(but is possibly now retired) is the acknowledged expert on these things
Karen
Banded 59:
3 Northern Saw-whet Owls (banded the night before)
1 Brown Creeper
13 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 Hermit Thrush
1 American Robin
1 Nashville Warbler
3 Yellow-rumped Warblers
2 Northern Cardinals
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
3 White-throated Sparrows
19 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Rusty Blackbirds
5 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 37 spp.
Rick

Fern Hill:
It was a cold, windy Monday at Fern Hill. The southwest winds during the night and throughout the morning didn’t bring in many new migrants and a lot of birds stayed in the area. We recaptured 15 birds, which was almost equal to how many new birds were banded. The first half of the morning was busy with sparrows and finches, but slowed down as the wind increased throughout the day.

Banded 19
1 American Robin
1 Song Sparrow
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
5 White-throated Sparrows
2 White-crowned Sparrows
5 Slate-colored Juncos
2 House Finches
2 American Goldfinches

ET: 23 spp.
Janice

October 20th:
The winds were still blowing this morning but waned throughout the day. The overcast conditions were good for netting. Many birds appeared to have stayed put, not willing to pit themselves against the challenging conditions. We ended up recapturing 52 previously banded birds (including 16 juncos), many from the day before. But a good number of “new” birds were on the move – we ended up banding 101. Although most were short-distance migrants or birds destined to winter in the area, I was surprised to capture 2 Black-throated Green Warblers, a male and a female. These birds should have been, at least, well on their way to their Winter home somewhere in Mexico through to Panama if not already there.

So it was a very hectic and busy morning – retraps take a lot longer to work through……

Juncos seem to be having a tough time (although it’s probably just coincidence). We captured one today which had an enormous engorged tick extending from its ear.

Banded 101:
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Brown Creepers
2 Golden-crowned Kinglets
12 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
1 Eastern Bluebird
6 American Robins
22 Cedar Waxwings
11 Yellow-rumped Warblers
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
1 Song Sparrow
8 White=throated Sparrows
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
9 Dark-eyed Juncos
4 Rusty Blackbirds
1 House finch
17 American Goldfinches

ET’s: 42 spp.
Rick

Fern Hill:
The sky was full of clouds and birds today at Fern Hill. The morning started off with rain showers and strong winds that increased throughout the day. The early morning was productive and we caught most of our birds then. A total of 11 birds were caught – 4 were banded and 7 were recaptures. Even though the nets weren’t too busy there were lots of birds in the area and diversity was high. The highlight was a Peregrine Falcon that was observed mid-morning flying north over the school.

Banded 4
1 Myrtle Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow
2 White-crowned Sparrows


ET’s: 32 spp.
Janice